Intermediate Russian, Kazan, 2011

West Virginia University
Senior/Undergraduate
Foreign Language – Russian Studies

A program officer visited WVU in Fall 2010. My advisor strongly recommended the program.

My major is Russian Studies, with a heavy emphasis on language and literature. I felt it would strengthen my learning experience to study in an immersive program in Russia.

I hope to continue my studies at the graduate level, which will require an even better knowledge of Russia and the Russian language. Therefore, continued study of that language is imperative for me to meet that goal.

The Russian language is the core of my education. In addition to studying, I spend considerable time tutoring other undergraduate students in the language.

Much of my planned research will require me to read and write in Russian. Further, I hope to some day teach Russian Literature here in the United States.

It did not change any of my goals. Instead, it gave me a confidence, which I had previously felt was lacking, in my ability to communicate effectively in the Russian language.

The people of Russia were my very favorite aspect of the program! I’ve met some of the most interesting people I’ve ever known there.

I learned that Russia is a VERY ethnically and spiritually diverse country, and that such diversity is generally celebrated, not merely tolerated.

One evening, my host and I met with a couple of his friends. We went riding go-karts. After we had finished, I learned that some of the other riders were members of a semi-professional team that is nationally-competitive in Russia.

. This is a Russian adverb, which means, “of course.” A fellow student and I used this when writing a short dialog demonstrating telephone conversation etiquette.

I was adopted at the age of about three months. My natural mother’s family, about one hundred years before, were Jews who had immigrated to the United States from Russia. I grew up in the small town of Fort Ashby, West Virginia. At age 17, I enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve, and two years later I began an active duty career that spanned 15 years, four continents, and three deployments. I’ve taken a great interest in automobiles in the last decade or so, and enjoy maintaining older cars.